Visitors will enjoy authentic cultural experiences at this summer's Mountains of Music Homecoming.
Region-wide community involvement and strong support from sponsors are shaping up to make The Crooked Road's first Mountains of Music Homecoming, June 12-20, a memorable experience. The nine-day, regional event features Crooked Road concerts in 34 different communities in Southwest Virginia, as well as over 260 cultural experiences being presented by businesses and organizations throughout the region.
"We are absolutely thrilled with the number and quality of cultural experiences being presented by the communities," Jack Hinshelwood, Crooked Road executive director said. "They include community meals, outdoor festivals, jam sessions, film festivals, wine tastings, special exhibits, dramas, instrument making demonstrations, dances, historic church tours, car shows, guided hikes, farm tours, quilt exhibits, river floats, cave hikes, 5K runs, writer's symposiums, motorcycle rides, restaurant tours, concerts and storytelling. This is going to be an amazing time to be in Southwest Virginia. We hope people will use the event to entice family and friends to come home for a visit."
The Crooked Road has seen strong support for the event from sponsors in both the public and private sectors including Food City, the Virginia Tobacco Commission, Virginia Tourism Corporation, National Endowment for the Arts, Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance, Emory & Henry College, and Barter Theatre. "We're pleased that so many community partners came together with the Crooked Road for our marketing leverage grant program," said Rita McClenny, president and CEO of Virginia Tourism Corporation. "Mountains of Music Homecoming will celebrate a truly authentic music cultural aspect of the Commonwealth, and these leveraged funds will support an open invitation to the world to come and experience the Homecoming and Virginia."
"Because our company's values are deep-rooted in the rural ideal, we are pleased to support The Crooked Road's Mountains of Music Homecoming and celebrate Southwest Virginia's unique cultural richness," said Sarah Elliott, director of marketing and brand strategy at Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance. "We value events like this one that benefit the communities in which our agents work and live."
The Crooked Road expects the event will attract 5,000 to 10,000 attendees in its first year and hopes it will grow to have a significant economic impact on the region's economy every year.
Tickets for the Crooked Road concerts will be available online as well as being sold at all Food City stores in Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. "Food City is excited to be a part of this unique concert series which will take place across Southwest Virginia. In fact, the concert venues mirror much of our own service area. The reach of this event is tremendous and we are confident that the economic impact it promises will be significant for our region," says Steven C. Smith, Food City president/CEO.
The Crooked Road's mission is to support tourism and economic development in Southwest Virginia by celebrating and preserving this Appalachian region's unique musical and cultural heritage. The organization's website is www.thecrookedroad.org. The website for the Mountains of Music Homecoming is www.mtnsofmusic.com.
For additional information about The Crooked Road or the Mountains of Music Homecoming, call 276-492-2409 or send an email to info@thecrookedroad.org.
